Sue Bradford Edwards's Blog, page 213

Confidential: When You Can’t Talk about Your Work

Recently, I found a new clause in one of my contracts.  The publisher now includes a confidentiality statement, otherwise known as a confidentiality clause. In its shortest form, the clause states that the author cannot distribute material that might be considered proprietary or confidential.  This can include any or all of the following: The broad […]

In-search-of-ideas: Mining Everyday Mysteries at the Library of Congress

I get a wide variety of updates sent to my in-box and that variety includes the Library of Congress.  Not too long ago, I saw that the library had a series called “Everyday Mysteries.” Take minute to check this out.  Although it is described as “Fun Science Facts from the Library of Congress,” there is […]

Folk and Fairy Tales: Inspiration for All Ages

Have you ever written a story inspired by a folk or fairy tale?  It is something I’ve been noodling over a lot lately in part because I ran across this blog post – #5onFri: Five Myths to Plunder for Ideas and Inspiration.   These age-old stories can be great sources for story ideas whether you […]

Books with Chapters: Where Does Middle Grade Fit In?

While I work on my latest nonfiction manuscript, I’ve been pounding out a new fiction draft.  Initially I thought it was a chapter book.  Because of this, when I needed a mentor book, I pulled out a Magic Tree House.  Those are fantasy.  Mine is fantasy.  Those have two main characters.  Mine has two main […]

Numbering Pages in Word

Last night, several critique buddies confessed that they still had not figured out how to insert page numbers in Word.  Yes, they could get a number to appear but . . . One woman couldn’t stop it from appearing on the first page. Another had been hand numbering pages. A third ended up with the […]

Cutting Excess Verbage

As I work on my chapter book project, I’ve been studying various fiction writing and rewriting techniques.  In part, this is because I’m trying to produce the cleanest manuscript possible.  I appreciate writing that is straightforward and concise.  I want my writing to be similar. Because of this, I work to cut excess verbage.  A […]

Going Off-Line to Work

I’ve got two big projects ongoing. I’m writing the first draft of a fiction chapter book. I’m thinking series but, as you know, I have to finish it and make a sale before that becomes an issue.  I’m also working on my next piece of teen nonfiction for Abdo. Since I also have blog posts […]

Book Spotting: Letting a Fellow Author Know You’ve Seen Her Book

Last week I spent some time walking on air.  One of my students “sighted” Black Lives Matter at her local library and sent me a photo.  It’s great to know that my book is a part of special displays and librarians are working to put it in young reader’s hands. Given how great this made me feel, […]

Labor Day: Taking time to recharge

I hope everyone is enjoying Labor Day weekend.  No parades for us. The boys have the weekend off so we spent a few days in the country.  Spending time away from the city is a good thing.  It reminds me that not everyone has access to wi-fi 24/7 and some people living place with patching […]

Multiple Points of View

If you are contemplating writing a young adult novel with multiple points of view, you need to study One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus. If you don’t know this book, five students are given detention on the same day. They were all caught by a single phone-hating teacher with phones in their backpacks during […]